Valve turning tool



Jan. 23', 1951 A. H. MOORE 2,539,262

VALVE TURNING TOOL Filed Oct. 19, 1946 INVENTOR Arthuml lMoore BY Z/mATTORNEY Patented Jan. 23, 1 951 VALV-E TURNING TOOL Arthur' Hugh Moore,Bayonne, N J., assignor to Tide Water Associated Oil Company, Bayonne,

a corporation of Delaware Application-October 19, 1946-, Seri'alNo.704,345

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a wrenchtype tool and. moreparticularly,. to a wrenchtype tool adapted for turning valve wheels.

The valve wheels for; which use of this tool is particularly intendedare the widely employed types of wheels generally comprising asubstantiallyv circular outer rim connected bymeans, such as spokes, toa hub which when: the wheel is rotated, functions either to open orclose a valve. As is known. to those skilled in the art, considerableforce must oftentimes be employed to tightly close valves to preventleakages therethrough and, similarly, to open tightly closed valves.Common practice is to use means, such as wrenches, rods, and the like,to engage the hub, spokes and/or rim of the valve wheel in order toapply sufficient force to rotate the-wheel, and by using commonlyemployedmeans, breakage of the wheel rim, or spokesand the like oftenoccurs necessitating replacement of the.

valve wheel.

One object of the present invention is to provide a tool of such,construction that it can effectively be employed for turning valvewheels with decreased tendency for breakage of said wheels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the wrench typehaving hook-likev members so formed that they may be firmly engaged withthe rim of a valve wheel and notlikely to slip out of engagement withsaid rim when force is applied to the tool. for the purpose .of rotatingthe valve wheel.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tool whichis-very strong, easy to operate, and not likely to break whenconsiderabl force is applied thereto forrotating valve wheels.

The present invention also; embodies as another object the provision ofa tool. oft. the wrench-type having hook-like members, formed so thatthey maybe engaged with the substantially circular outer rim of a valvewheel whereby considerable rotative forcemay beappliedtothe wheel withgreatly reduced tendency for the;

wheel to break as a result. of the force applied v thereto.

The invention is illustratedin the accompanying drawings in whichlikereference numbers have the same signficance, setting forth .pre,-ferred embodiments of the "invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tool such as provided by the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is another perspective view of the tool shown in Figure 1,further illustrating. the

dispositionof the hook-like members of thenovel tool;

Figure 3' is a perspectiv view of the tool, such as shown in Figure 1,illustrating a manner of engaging, the tool with a valve wheel toprovide for clockwise turning of valve wheels; and

Figure 4 is a perspective View of the improved tool illustrating themanner of engagement of said tool with a valve whe;l to provide forcounter-clockwise rotating of valve wheels when employing a tool such asillustrated in Figure l.

Broadly speaking, the novel tool of the present invention is a leverdevice for rota-ting valve wheels and comprises a handle member and abifurcated end member integral therewith and a substantiallysemi-circular end portion onieach leg of said bifurcated member adaptedto engage substantially opposite surfaces of the rim of a valve wheel.The bifurcatd end member, integral with the handle member, is preferablyof U-shape. and provides an effective means for rotating valve wheelswhen the tool is engaged with the valve wheel, in a manner such ashereinafter described, and force is applied to the, handle member.

In order to illustrate my invention, reference is made to the drawing ofFigure 1, illustrating an embodiment of the novel tool provided herein.As shown in Figure l, the improved tool is of the wrench type andconsists of a bar ll! of tool steel, or othzr suitable material ofconvenient length for handling and whose dimensions in cross-section aresufficient to withstand the uses to which the tool would ordinarily beput. Handle H" of bar it is preferably of polygonal design, such asoctagonal, to provide for sumcient gripping of the handle, such as atend [6 of handle H, to minimize the tendency for slippage when means, e.g., such as by hand, are employed for applying force to the tool when inuse for rotating valve wheels. In a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, one end of bar I0 is'flattened and widened on opposedsurfaces, such as at handle portion l2, integral with a substantiallyU-shaped, g., bifurcated member l3 having substantially semi-circularlegs M and I5 adapted for engaging circumferentially remote andsubstantially opposite surfaces of the rim of a valve wheel. As shown inFigure 1, one leg of said U-shaped member, such asrepresented byreference charact:r I4, is upset at the end of the U-shaped member l3for engaging a portion of the inner surface of the rim of a valve wheeland the other leg, 1. e., leg 1%, is substantially oppositely upset toprovide for en- 3 gaging a portion of the outer surface of the rim ofsaid wheel. Figure 2 is another view of the novel tool, as shown inFigure 1, further illustrating a suitable manner in which the hooklikemembers are disposed, and in the specific embodiment shown, rim-engagingmembers i4 and I5 have angular rim-engaging leading edges and axes ofcurvature converging toward each other. By engaging the tool with therim of a valve wheel, in a manner such as described more fullyhereinafter, force may be applied to handle member H, such as at end 56thereof, whereby leverage is applied to the U-shaped member providingfor rotating of the wheel engaged by legs 14 and l5. 1

In application of the novel tool for rotating valve wheels, legs l4 andI5 are engaged with the rim of a valve wheel as shown in Figure 4illustrating the use of the tool shown in Figure 1 for turning the wheelin a counter-clockwise direction. As illustrated in Figure 4., the toolill is engaged with wheel rim l! by placing hook-like member i4 aroundan inner surface portion of rim I1 and hook-like member i5 around anouter surface portion of rim l'i, both hook-like mem bers preferablyengaging rim if in a substantially close-fitting contact. Through theleverage afforded by the length of the tool when force is applied to thehandle portion it of tool 55], the tool provides an effective means fOrrotating the valve wheel.

Whereas Figure 4 illustrates a manner for using the novel tool of Figure1 for counter-clockwise turning of a valve wheel, Figure 3 illustrates amanner of engaging the rim of a valve wheel with a substantially similartool to turn the wheel in a clockwise direction. For such a purpose,tool ll] of Figure 3 is engaged, as shown, with rim :8 in a mannerwhereby hook-like members l4 and are placed around portions of rim l8,the hooklike members engaging substantially circumferentially remote andoppositely disposed surface portions of the wheel rim and, preferably,in substantially close-fitting contact with said rim surfaces.

With reference to hook-like members 14 and 15 of the U-shaped member ofthe novel tool, it has been stated hereinbefore that the function ofthese hook-like members is to o rte s11. stantially opposite surfaces ofa wheel rim, to provide leverage for rotating the wheel when force isapplied to the handle portion of the tool. Satisfactory results, inturning valve wheels employing the novel tool of the present invention,are provided when the engaging portions of each of the hook-like membersare wholly or partly engaged with the aforesaid surfaces of the wheelrim. However, in order to provide optimum results for rotating valvewheels, it is preferable that the angular leading edges of the hook-likemembers engage the wheel rim in substantially close-fitting contact andhence, the inner-curved surfaces of each of the substantiallysemi-circular hook-like members Hi and i5 should be so formed as to besimilar in curvature to the portion of the rim surfaces that is to beengaged by each of said hook-like members. By disposing the hook-likemembers in a manner to provide for substantially close-fittingengagement with the rim surface, considerable force may be applied tothe tool with highly satisfactory results in rotating valve wheels withconsiderably decreased tendency, as compared with previously employedmethods, for breakage of the wheel.

In the foregoing description of the application of my novel tool for usein rotating valve wheels, it has been set forth that hook-like membersl4 and I5 are engaged with substantially oppositely disposed portions ofthe wheel rim. In order to provide an efficient means for thus engagingthe wheel rim, such as wherein one hook-like member engages the outersurface and the other hookllke member engages the inner surface of thewheel rim, the novel tool contains a bifurcated portion as shown bybifurcation l3 of Figure 1. In engaging the novel tool with the wheelrim on which it is to be employed, the tool is manipulated so that thespace between the hook-like members l4 and I5 provides clearance for therim and the tool is then twisted to engage the hooklike members with therim. Hence, in order that proper clearance of the wheel rim is provided,the hook-like members are disposed so that the space between thehook-like members provides clearance for the rim on which the tool isemployed. Thus, for example, when employing the novel tool on asubstantially circular rim, such as may be illustrated by Figure 4, thedistance between hook-like members l4 and [5 should be greater than thediameter of a transverse section through rim 5? whereby proper clearanceof the rim is provided for efiiciently engaging the tool with the wheelrim.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction withcertain preferred embodiments thereof, it is obvious to those skilled inthe art that the construction and arrangements of parts of the tool maybe varied Without departing from the spirit of m invention. Suchvariations and modifications are to be considered to be within thepurview of the specification and the scope of the appended claims. Thus,although the present invention has been described in connection with thedrawings herein illustrating my novel tool as an integral unit, such asmay be provided by'welding together certain parts thereof, it is withinthe scope of the present invention to include similar tools formed byattaching together parts thereof in a manner whereby replacement of thehook-like members can easily be made. For example, it is consideredwithin the scope of the present invention to include a tool similar inconstruction and arrangement of parts thereof as illustrated in Figure1, but in which tool the handle portion and hook-like members areattached together in a manner, other than to provide an integral unit,e. g., such as obtained by welding, whereby the hook-like members can bechanged as desired to provide a tool that is adaptable for adjustmentand use with wheel valves of a different rim size to provide forefficient engagement of the hook-like members with the specific wheelrim on which it is to be used.

I claim:

,1. A valve turning tool for rotating a valve wheel by application ofrotative force to the rim of said wheel comprising a leverage handlemember carrying a bifurcated end portion one le of which carries acurved leading rim-engaging member adapted to engage an outer portion ofthe rim and'the other leg of which carries a hookshaped trailingrim-engaging member adapted to engage a circumferentially remote innerportion of the rim, said rim-engaging members having axes of curvatureconverging toward each other.

2. A valve turning'tool, as defined in claim 1, in which the saidbifurcated end portion comprises two strips of rectangular cross-sectionthe terminal portions of which constitute the said rim-engaging members.

3. A valve turning tool for rotating a valve wheel by application ofrotative force to the rim of said wheel comprising a leverage handlemember carrying a bifurcated end portion one leg of which carries acurved leading rim-engaging member adapted to engage an outer portion ofthe rim and the other leg of which carries a hook-shaped trailingrim-engaging member adapted to engage a circumferentially remote innerportion of the rim, said rim-engaging members having angular rim-engaginleading edges and axes of curvature that converge toward each 6 otherwhereby localized force is exerted on the wheel rim by said edges in useof the tool.

ARTHUR HUGH MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 913,625 David Feb. 23, 19081,040,982 Ingerham Oct. 8, 1912 1,408,561 Carman Mar. 7, 1922 2,086,722Matuells -1--- July 13, 1937

